Don’t get me wrong, the transfer window is far from over, and plenty of exciting business could be going on behind the scenes. However, with just a few days to go until the first game of the season, Newcastle are alarmingly still yet to make a signing that improves our starting 11.
Even the rumour cycle has mostly dried out, with the only known ongoing transfer saga being that of our attempts to sign England star Marc Guehi. Our third bid for the centre-back – thought to be £55m plus add-ons – went in over the weekend and it’s hoped it will tempt Crystal Palace into a sale, but it’s dragged on for over 10 days after Luke Edwards’ ‘exclusive’ claimed it was almost done two Friday’s ago.
Given that there are no real signs of any other transfer activity elsewhere, with key positions still yet to be addressed, at what point do we all start to worry?
For me, the time to worry is now. We have, if anything, regressed in squad depth following one of the most injury hit campaigns in Premier League history, and are seemingly just hoping the same does not happen again. The club has seemed nothing short of chaotic behind the scenes, with many unforeseen movements in key positions at both board and coaching level. Those behind the scenes changes, such as the Ashworth saga and sudden changes in ownership structure, would have been far less panic inducing if they didn’t run simultaneously with the PSR deadline day disaster.
The rushed sales of young talents Elliott Anderson and Yankuba Minteh prominently display the lack of preparation and the misjudgement behind the scenes. If either didn’t cooperate and agree to their respective moves, our season could easily have been over before it even started due to the vast points deduction we were likely to receive.
Many would argue, and rightly so, that selling Anderson and Minteh was a worthy sacrifice if it meant avoiding a points deduction whilst holding on to our more prized assets. However, we never…
Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/08/12/when-should-we-start-to-worry/
Author : Oden Hudson
Publish date : 2024-08-12 19:47:54
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